Suspension device.



H. L. HULL '& T. N. LOFGREN. SUSPENSION DEVICE..

APPLICATION man MAR. 26. 1917.

Patented Feb. 4, 1919.

mgagm.,

.sU'srENsr'oN DEVICE.

lessees.' Specification ifLffer's Pa'et Patenten rena,- ieee.

' .'Appiieatign flied 'March 26,1917.- seriaiigalsaam.

To all whom it may concern:` large so as .not to interferel with thefree.. Beit known that we, Hnnnmj L'. HpLL fmoiiement ofthe ball and yetprevent it from .56 and THOMAS LoFGREN, citizens of the v rotating abouta vertical' aXis. The upper United States, .residing at Chicago, in the4mouth of the ball isals'o roundedI and thus 5 countyof Cook and Stateof Illinois, have' avolds danger of `damaging the insulation invented acertain new and :useful ImproveonV the .electric wires. This ball memberis ment in Suspension-Devices, of which the 'Internally vthreaded toreceive the upper 60 following is 3. specification,- llleadd end 0,tl1epa1't 9 Which fOI' C011- Our invent-ion relates ltosuspenslon deavenlence' maybe termed the .plug. .The 1o vices, more particularly forsuspending eleclatter screws up 'con' paratively close'to the triclixtures from ceilings. t The inventionjislewerend of the ball and hasan externa-l especially advantageous in factories, warediameter greaterthan the internal diameter 'e5 h ouseeand' other places where a compara#of the seat 4 in the canopy. This prevents ,A tlvely'inexpensive-equipment is wanted and :the ball from becomingentirelywunseated Whey-@ goods', merchandise, machinery 0r pandIemOVed.' `II1 other WOIdS, the

`'otherjobjects are apt to be moved about from haS a ShOllldeI.' 10which, when the parts aref .place td place' in the building. The dev '5.assembled, is 'located a slight 'distance be- -1s.eX'cept-ionally usefulin buildings made'of neath 'the lower end of the ball and thusreinforced concrete. It is our purpose to llmlts the rise ofthesuspended parts with- 2 0 provide a construction having a connection outlntclfe'lmg 1th he freedom of movewhichwill befreely siningible and atthe ment thereof. The 'lug .is hollow 4and y same time be non-rotatable,so tha'tit will threaded 'at its lower end to be coupled with 75 beheld'while thgstem of the fixture is be the nipple 12. Sald nipple is eithercon-` ing'screwed onto it'. nected to ory forms apart -of the stem or.The Objects are Obtined bythe mehanifsm ldown pipe through which theconductors are illustrated in the accompanying drawings', led t0 thelXllIe. If desired, "eltlCal Ilbs in which; l I 13 may be formed uponthe-sides of plug 94 so Figure 1 is aside View of the assembled t0lfDlfd a grlp fOr pipe tongs or other tool device, employed to screw theparts together. Fig@ js'an' axj'a1 sect.i0n thereof, In practice, theoutlet boxand the leading Fig. 3 is a plan section on the line' 3%,,111. 'Vlls (11015 ShOWIl) 'are' Installed-ill the Fig- 4 Q celllng 1nthe usual manner. As a rule, the 85 F ig. 4 is a bottom perspectiveoil?the lower canopy, ball. and 'plug constitutin'gthe 'suspOI-tion of theCanopy, and penslon device are shlpped assembled. In Fig. 5 is aVperspectivev View showing the any event, after the outlet box has beeninmanner of assembling two of, the principal stalled, the canopy 1 isfastened t0 it b elements of the device. Screws. T heball and plug thenassume. a v90 'Similar numerals lrefer to similar parts, Suspendedposition, -as shown in Figs. l and throughout the several' 'views 2,after which the nipple or stem is screwed 4o In the vform selected toillustrate the 1ninto place.v lVhen the fixture has been vention, thecanopy 1 has a flange 2 with placed, -it will hang verticallyrregardless of screw holes 3' designed to t a standard outany ordinarytiltl in `the outlet. box and 95 let box. This canopy may be varied inoutcanopy. Furthermore, the fixture is free to line but maywell be inthe shape of a hollow swing through a considerable angle. for eX-e'inverted cone, truncated to forml a seat or ample, 25 degrees, more orless. Hence if socket for supporting the'member 5 which struck byany-moving object, as frequentlv lfor convenience may be termed theball. happens in manufacturing and commercial The ball is rounded at thelowerend so as buildings, no damage will be done to the to vbefreelymovable when seated and has Suspension devices, nor will there be any 50two ears 6, 6 at .the side'which yfit. into .danger of bending the stem'of the' xture. `notches 7, '7 formed in the lower end of the At-thesame time, the ears 6 prevent the lixcanopv. vThe ears themselves arepreferably ture from rotating in V`a horizontal plane and `somewhatrounded and the notches rather thus twisting the inclosed electricconductors'. The swinging of the fixture, even though it shouldr occurvery frequently, Will have little or no tendency to damage theconductors because of the rounded ,configuration of the upper end ofball 5 Where the conductors pass from the canopy down into the stem.

' It will be noted that the number of parts ordinarilyrequired in theold type of 'xture is reduced and their configuration both simplifiedand strengthened. Furthermore,

- there is a reduction in the amount of labor considerably involvedbecause with this new device all that the installing electrician has todo is to fasten the canopy to the outlet box with ordinary screws andthen screw, the stem of into the plug or furnished with the device,depending upon the preferences of the purchaser)l As pre Vviouslysuggested, the shape of the member -1 may be varied and, instead ofbeing coni-I cal, it may be rounded or dished or may be flattenedwithout departing .from the sp1rit of the invention. l

described our invention, What Having thus We claim asne'w and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, 1s:

In a suspension device for electric fixtures,

a stationary hollow securing member hav- 3cY ing an opemng in itsbottom, the Wall of which is provided with a longitudinal groove, asupporting member seated in the securing member and movablerelatively tothe latter 1n response secured to-the supporting member and having` ashoulder for engaging the bottom of the securing member to limit theupward movement of the supporting member, and 40 HERBERT L. HULL.

THOMAS N. Lorennu.

to swinging tendency 35 lof a supported fixture, a fixture coupling dlya ear from

